Released: February 06, 2002

New Software Helps With Weed Management in Kansas

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Who would have guessed 50 years ago that agriculture would find computer programs so helpful in day-to-day operations? But farmers now use computer software for everything from accounting to equipment purchases – and even weed management.

WeedSOFT 2002 was originally developed by the University of Nebraska, but has been adapted and updated for several states, including Kansas. Kansas State University Research and Extension agronomists Dallas Peterson and Anita Dille worked with Nebraska to "regionalize" the program. That included incorporating state-specific label information, adding weeds of importance to Kansas, and modifying competitive indices and herbicide efficacy ratings for Kansas conditions.

"The ‘Advisor’ module program helps applicators and farmers make weed control decisions based on field data that the farmer inputs. Such variables as weed species, population, crop size, soil type, pH and application timing are examples of the kinds of data that are taken into account by the program," Peterson said. "It generates a list of weed control options based on that information."

Those options are then ranked by return on investment or maximum yield. The program also can estimate the projected yield loss if control is not applied versus estimated yield loss if control is applied, he said.

"Another neat concept of the program is that the input weed species are color-coded to indicate potential for weed seed production in response to a given weed control option, a concern for many growers as an indication of next year’s weed problem," Dille said.

The software currently provides recommendations for corn, soybean and wheat crops. Sorghum will likely be added in the future, Peterson said.

Although the program is a handy tool for weed control management, it should be considered just that – a tool – but not the only tool, Peterson said.

"We don’t want anyone to rely totally on WeedSOFT for their decision making. It should be viewed as another tool to help producers with their weed management decisions," he said.

The program also has a weed identification module, with color photos of 64 weed species.

The software sells for $195, and will be updated annually. For further information or to order, interested persons can access http://weedsoft.unl.edu.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Mary Lou Peter, Communications Specialist
mlpeter@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News